Many processes exist for patterning substrates to create holes therein. For example, according to one conventional process, mechanical drilling may be used to create holes in glass substrates. Mechanical drilling is insufficient for some applications, however. For example, mechanical drilling may undesirably weaken the mechanical strength of the substrate drilled and it may be difficult to create certain shapes in glass substrates using a mechanical drilling process.
Other processes to create holes in glass substrates have been developed that provide better results for some applications. For example, laser ablation may be used to create holes in glass substrates. Although laser ablation can improve upon some of the disadvantages of mechanical drilling, laser ablation also has some drawbacks that can make it undesirable for certain applications.